Routing technology has evolved from simple L3 routing based on destination Internet Protocol (IP) address to L4/L5 routing based on source/destination IP addresses, port numbers, and protocol type. Recently, routing has been based on the information request itself. To date, content routing functions are typically located in the proximity of the servers or data centers with routing approaches that consider only the domain name of the information request. With distributed data centers and object replication, it is often possible to retrieve an object to satisfy an information request from multiple servers that are geographically dispersed. Moreover, the desired content may not be located at the closest server. Thus, inefficiencies result when an object is downloaded from a server that is far away from the request originator or is overloaded. This difficulty is further exacerbated when a request is sent to one server only to have it redirected to another server.
Certain content providers want to have their content readily available upon request. These content providers are willing to pay for enhanced services to ensure ready access to their information. Other content providers are not concerned with providing their information in a fast and efficient manner. Therefore, it is desirable to provide enhanced services to those content providers that desire improved efficiencies and response time while still servicing those content providers that do not wish to pay for the enhanced service implementation.